Tampa Bay Lightning Falter on Road Trip
Lightning loses to Pittsburgh and Ottawa After Strong Home Stand
Oct 18, 2009
After two consecutive seasons of picking in the top two of the draft, Tampa Bay have entered the 2009/10 season with just one thing in mind; making the playoffs. An eventful off-season saw the Lightning draft a projected super-star for the blue-line in Viktor Hedman, add an experienced defenseman Mattias Ohlund and a talented scoring forward in Alex Tanguay. This combined with a more experienced Steve Stamkos fuelled hopes that this team would have the ability to not only make the playoffs but to compete in the post-season.
An impressive home stand prompted many pundits to say that Tampa were set to fulfil their promise, especially with the 18-year old Hedman leading the team in ice time and the excellent performances of Martin St. Louis, Stamkos and Ryan Malone playing on a line together. However, their performances against the Senators and Penguins lacked crispness, particularly in the transition game where they were guilty of far too many turnovers and failed to generate consistent offense. Their struggles were compounded by two poor displays on special teams; the power-play was guilty of ‘over-passing’, trying far too many ‘cute’ perimeter plays rather than firing the puck on net. As a result they went just 1-13 with the man advantage and conceded two short-handed goals against the Senators after intercepted passes.
Goaltending Tandem Mike Smith and Antero Nittymaki
No single player has more importance to the team than the goaltender, which is why so much time is spent talking about goaltending. The Lightning hasn’t had a ‘true #1’ since Nikolai Khabibulin helped to guide them to the Stanley Cup. Now two former back-ups look set to form an intriguing tandem in what should prove to be an interesting contest for ice time. Smith is still trying to seize hold of his opportunity after injuries limited him to just 41 games last season; however a 0-2-2 start featuring two very solid starts but also two 6+ goal routs has left some question marks surrounding his status in the tandem. Meanwhile, Nittymaki was never quite able to establish himself as the full time #1 in Philadelphia; he may have a chance with Tampa Bay after starting 2-1-0 including two strong performances in the team’s two victories this season.
Both, Nittymaki and Smith have had a history of being inconsistent and the competition should do both some good. Nonetheless, both have the talent to be game-winners and Coach Rick Tocchet will likely ride the ‘hot hand’ throughout most of the season, a situation that should be of benefit to the team.
Captain Vincent Lecavalier
Arguably one of the most controversial players in the NHL since being drafted 1st overall in 1998, Lecavalier will almost be at the center of things in Tampa once again this season. The Captain was rumoured to be on his way out to Montreal at the trade deadline last year and for much of the off-season, but is still a vital cog centering Alex Tanguay and Steve Downie/Stephane Veilleux on the Lightning’s second line. That entire line failed to create chances and Lecavalier’s play on the point on the power-play was also disappointing, Tocchet would have undoubtedly hoped for a stronger, more inspiring effort from his captain at some point during the two games.
Lecavalier is still integral to this franchise; he has the talent to be the team’s dominant player and if he is able to have a good season, Tampa Bay should feature in the 2010 playoffs.
Southeast Division Roundup
The Southeast division is an improved division this season with all five teams holding playoff ambitions. The Washington Capitals wild start continued with wins over San Jose and Nashville, the Capitals are now 4-2-2, while Alex Ovechkin has 9 goals and 16 points in just 8 games! Ilya Kovalchuk has 7 goals in 5 games to lead the Atlanta Thrashers to an excellent 4-1-0 start, including a 4-2 victory over Buffalo on Saturday night. Carolina fell to New Jersey at the weekend as they continue their in different start; the Canes have had a surprisingly hard time scoring goals so far this season. Florida secured an impressive 4-2 victory over the Flyers on Friday, Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton both scored as the Panthers secured their second win of the season.
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